Safety swimming pool cover



April 30, 1963 N. l.. CQWAN 3,087,167

SAFETY SWIMMING POOL COVER Filed March 23, 1961 IN V EN TOR. MAW/w L. 6' 0 wA/v rraR/vgm United States Patent O 3,087,167 SAFETY SWIMMING POOL COVER Norman L. Cowan, Los Angeles, Calif. (10526 Swinton Ave., Granada Hills, Calif.) F iled Mar. 23, 1961, Ser. No. 97,874 2 Claims. (Cl. 4-172) This invention relates to `a safety apparatus to be used in conjunction with swimming pools or other confined bodies of Water to prevent drowning of persons that may fall into to water when the pool is left unattended. The invention is particularly directed toward the provision of an open mesh safety netting which is adapted to be stretched and held securely beneath but closely adjacent to the water surface of a swimming pool, thus providing a support surface to prevent the drowning of persons, especially children, falling into the pool when it is left unattended.

Briefly stated, the invention resides in the combination of a swimming pool having a safety net secured at one end to a wall of the pool and having its other end coiled upon an adjustable reeling mechanism positioned adjacent an opposite wall of the pool whereby the net may be disposed in a taut condition slightly below the water surface for the entire area thereof, or caused to lie adjacent to the end wall surfaces and the bottom of the pool upon suitable adjustment of the reeling mechanism.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a safety device for a swimming pool capable of supporting, at a level adjacent to the water surface, persons, especially children and non-swimmers, who have fallen into the pool, to prevent accidental drownings.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a safety net which may be disposed in a taut condition adjacent the normal water surface and the rim of a pool whereby a support is provided to prevent sinking and possible drowning of persons falling into the pool when it is iilled with water or to prevent injury to such persons falling into the pool when it is empty and unattended.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of a swimming pool having a safety net capable of supporting a person (Who has fallen into the pool) at a level suiiciently near the normal water surface and adjacent to the rim of the pool to prevent drowning when the pool contains water, or injury when the pool is empty, and means whereby the safety net may be easily secured at a level slightly beneath the Water surface of the pool when it is to be left unattended but may be quickly and easily disposed on the bottom and adjacent the end walls of the pool where it will not interfere With swimming activities when the pool is to be used.

Another object of the invention is to provide a safety net which may be positioned in a taut condition, and substantially invisible, slightly beneath the water surface of a swimming pool when it is left unattended or quickly and simply disposed closely adjacent the end walls and bottom surface of the pool when it is desired to use the pool for swimming and readily removed entirely from the pool area when it is desired to clean the surfaces of the pool during normal maintenance operations.

Other objects will become apparent in the ensuing specification and appended drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a broken plan View having parts in crosssection showing a swimming pool embodying the safety net of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 2--2 of FIG. l; and

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing details of the structure for attachment of the safety net to one end of a swimming pool.

As an example of one form in which the invention may "ice be embodied I have shown in the drawings an arrangement wherein an adjustable safety net is structurally cornbined with a swimming pool. Basically, the invention comprises safety net 10 which is controlled by a power driven reeling mechanism 11 and positionable thereby to eXtend in a taut condition slightly below the water surface 12 of the pool 13 when it is desired to leave the pool unattended, or to lie closely adjacent the end Walls and bottom of the pool where it does not interfere with swimming activities when the pool is in use. Being of clear textile strand material (erg. nylon or clear plastic strand), the net will be substantially invisible when immersed.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the swimming pool 13 is generally of conventional concrete construction and includes a bottom 14, integral side walls 1S, an adjoining deck area 16, and an encircling apron 17 provided with a rounded edge 1S. In order to accommodate the safety net 10 and reeling mechanism l11, the construction includes a recessed well `19 adjacent the end wall 20 at the deep end of the pool and a plurality of eyebolts 21 extending in a line slightly below the water level 12 which are embedded at spaced intervals along the end wall 22 at the shallow end of the pool.

The recessed well 19 is divided into two compartments one of which designated 23, is slightly longer than the width of the pool and communicates with the pool through a slot opening 24 extending entirely across end Wall 20 at a depth below the water surface equal to that of eyebolts 21. The compartment 23 is shaped to receive a water-tight housing 25 serving to encase reeling mechanism 11 upon which one end of the safety net 10 is coiled.

Housing 25 comprises a bottom member 26 which is S-curved having a concave back portion 27. Well 19 is lined at the bottom by a net guiding apron 28 to facilitate reeling and unreeling of the net. The front end of apron 28 passes through and along the lower part of opening 24 and is terminated in a rounded lip 29 over which the net may slide without injury thereto when it is raised or lowered in the pool. Housing 25 also includes a rising front panel 31. A horizontal head section 32 conforms to and supports the top of opening '24. End members 33 and 34 are provided at each end of the housing and a removable cover member 35 is ,disposed on flanges 36 on bottom member 26 and the front panel 31 of the housing.

The other compartment 37 of well 19 is utilized to house the reel .driving motor 38 and associated gears 39. This portion of the well is disposed beyond the side edge 15 of the pool and is slightly deeper than compartment 23 to properly orient the motor and gears with respect to the axis of the reeling mechanism. A cover member 41 is provided for well `19 and is removably seated in a recess 42 [bordering the top edge of the well whereby the cover member also serves as a tread plate which is flush with the deck area 16 of the pool.

The safety net 10 may be in the form of an open mesh netting and may be made from material sufficiently strong to support the weight of persons who might fall linto the net when it is Idisposed in its taut condition. Material such as `solid nylon strand has been found satisfactory for the purpose, but other materials of equivalent strength and not su-bject to the deleterious action of ,Water or purifying chemicals normally used in swimming pools may be employed. The side margins 43 and the free end 44 0f the net are provided with a continuous reinforcement border 45 of similar bindings in the form of folded strip that has its inner faces -suitably bonded together through the openings in the mesh material and to the strands 46 of the net as shown in FIG. 3 of the drawing. Metal eyelets 47 are secured to the border 45 along the free end 44 of the net. Eyelets 47 are equipped with fastening hooks 48 secured by loops 49 to the eyelets and provided with hooked ends 50 which may be detachably secured in the eyes 51 of eyebolts 21 wh-ich are disposed in recesses 52; in end wall 22 of the pool. Additionally, net 10 has secured thereto a plurality of detachable weights 53 which are distributed along the side margins of the net to provide sufficient 'body to the net to cause it to settle to the bottom of the pool in response to unreel-ing operation of the reeling mechanism 11 when the pool is to be used for swimming activities. The remaining end of the safety net 1t) is suitably attached to the reel cylinder 54 of reeling mechanism 11.

Reel cylinder 54 is equipped with an axle shaft 55 which is journalled in bearing members 56 and 57 secured to the end walls of housing 25'. Bearing member 6 is provided with a suitable seal whereby the axle shaft 54 may pass through the wall member 34 for attachment to a worm gear 58 which -is driven by the worm wheel 5'9 attached to the drive shaft v60 of motor 38.

Motor 38 is of the reversible drive -type and is controlled by conventional switching arrangements whereby the motor may be driven in either direction to wind or unwind the net on reel cylinder 54. For the convenience of the pool owner controlling switch mechanism may be provided at a plurality of control stat-ions which may be located adjacent the pool area and within adjoining building structures such as a home. A conventional limit switch 61 is disposed on end wall 34 of the reel housing 25 and is provided with a sealed actuator 62 extending through the wall 34 and into a position where it may be moved upwardly to an off position by contact with the edge 43 of net 10 when it is drawn sufliciently taut by rotation of reel cylinder 54 in being raised to the position shown in FIG. 2 of the drawing.

The foregoing arrangement may be operated in the following manner. When it is necessary to leave the pool unattended, whether lled with water or empty, motor 38 is operated to drive reel cylinder 54 in a direction to unwind the net to an extent permitting attachment of hooks 50 to the exposed eyes 51 of eyebolts 21 at the shallow end of the pool. Then the motor may lbe actuated to draw the net to the ta-ut position shown more clearly in FIG. 2 at which time switch 61 will be actuated by Contact of actuator 62 with the edge of raised net 10 to turn olf the motor and secure the net in its taut position. In this position the net is disposed about two inches 'below the water surface when the pool is iilled or at a level sufliciently close to the top of the pool to provide a support surface to prevent a person falling into the pool from sinking to the bottom and possibly drowning when the pool is lled or to prevent him from being injured in the event the pool is empty.

If the net is disposed in the above described position when the pool is to be used, for swimming purposes, motor 38 -is actuated to unwind the net 10 from reel cylinder 54 and permit it to settle along the end walls and 22 and the bottom surface 14. The attached weights 53 are so distributed over the area of the net as to cause the net to sink rapidly in the water as it is fed away from reel cylinder 54 and to cause it to settle irst against the shallow end wall 22, the bottom surface and finally -against the deep end wall 20 where it will be removed from the swimming area of the pool.

Additionally, the fasteners 50 may be detached from eyebolts 21 and the net completely wound on cylinder S4 when it is necessaryto clean the side walls and bottom surfaces of the pool.

Thus it can 'be seen that my invention provides a swimming pool, or the like, with a safety device capable of easy installation in new or existing pool constructions.

Accordingly, the pool owner is assured that persons, especially children, will not be drowned or injured in the event they should accidentally fall into the pool at a time when it is necessary for the owner to leave the pool unattended.

It is to lbe understood that the disclosure of the invention herein is exemplary of a preferred form, and that variations may be made in the specic shape, form and conguration of the various parts and in the specific materials referred to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The foregoing disclosure is to be interpreted in an illustrative rather than a limiting sense and to be accorded the full scope of the appended claims.

It is to be understood that the housing Z5, together with the apparatus mounted thereon, may be removed from the well 19 as a unit for servicing, repair, replacement, etc. (af-ter having detached the screen 14 from the roller 54). To this end, the motor 3S may be mounted to the side member 34 by a suitable bracket 65, and the housing 25 may be loosely supported in the well i9, resting upon a rearward extension of apron 28, which may be provided as a permanent lining for the bottom of the well. Thus the housing 25 and its associated apparatus may be regarded as being portable in the sense that it can readily be moved from the well 11 and returned to a service shop for repair.

I claim:

l. In combination: a swimming pool including a bottom, side walls and end walls; a deck adjoining the upper extremity of one of said end walls, said deck having therein an elongated well extending the width of the pool parallel to the adjacent end wall, the latter having an opening in the form of a vertically shallow slot extending the width of the pool and communicating the forward side of said well and the adjacent area of the pool substantially in a horizontal plane slightly below the normal water level of the pool; a cover normally covering the top of :said well and disposed as an extension of the upper surface of said deck; a roller disposed in said well parallel to said adjacent end wall of the pool, the lower side of said roller being substantially tangent to said plane of the opening; a safety net having one end portion wrapped around said roller and extending tangently from the lower side of the roller through said opening into the pool, isaid net having along its opposite end margin a series of fasteners; cooperating fasteners mounted in the opposite end wall of the pool at substantially the height of said opening for securing said opposite end of the net; and means for rotating said roller to place said net under tension and in :said horizontal plane and submerged slightly below the level of the water in the pool.

2. The combination defined in claim l, including, in said well, partition means separating said well into a relatively long compartment extending the full width of the pool interior and containing said roller and the rolledup portion of said net, and a relatively short end compartment adjoining one end of said long compartment; and further including a drive motor and gearing connecting said motor to said roller, said motor and gearing being disposed in said end compar-tment and said roller having a shaft projecting through said partition means and connected to said gearing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,796,76-2 Paston Mar. 17, 1931 2,517,393 lLaw Aug. l, 1950 2,754,899 Karobonik et al. July 17, 1956 2,844,196 Jones July 22, 1958 2,870,454 Schipper-t et al Ian. 27, 1959 2,898,607 McGuire Aug. ll, 1959 

1. IN COMBINATION: A SWIMMING POOL INCLUDING A BOTTOM, SIDE WALLS AND END WALLS; A DECK ADJOINING THE UPPER EXTREMITY OF ONE OF SAID END WALLS, SAID DECK HAVING THEREIN AN ELONGATED WELL EXTENDING THE WIDTH OF THE POOL PARALLEL TO THE ADJACENT END WALL, THE LATTER HAVING AN OPENING IN THE FORM OF A VERTICALLY SHALLOW SLOT EXTENDING THE WIDTH OF THE POOL AND COMMUNICATING THE FORWARD SIDE OF SAID WELL AND THE ADJACENT AREA OF THE POOL SUBSTANTIALLY IN A HORIZONTAL PLANE SLIGHTLY BELOW THE NORMAL WATER LEVEL OF THE POOL; A COVER NORMALLY COVERING THE TOP OF SAID WELL AND DISPOSED AS AN EXTENSION OF THE UPPER SURFACE OF SAID DECK; A ROLLER DISPOSED IN SAID WELL PARALLEL TO SAID ADJACENT END WALL OF THE POOL, THE LOWER SIDE OF SAID ROLLER BEING SUBSTANTIALLY TANGENT TO SAID PLANE OF THE OPENING; A SAFETY NET HAVING ONE END PORTION WRAPPED AROUND SAID ROLLER AND EXTENDING TANGENTLY FROM THE LOWER SIDE OF THE ROLLER THROUGH SAID OPENING INTO THE POOL, SAID NET HAVING ALONG ITS OPPOSITE END MARGIN A SERIES OF FASTENERS; COOPERATING FASTENERS MOUNTED IN THE OPPOSITE END WALL OF THE POOL AT SUBSTANTIALLY THE HEIGHT OF SAID OPENING FOR SECURING SAID OPPOSITE END OF THE NET; AND MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID ROLLER TO PLACE SAID NET UNDER TENSION AND IN SAID HORIZONTAL PLANE AND SUBMERGED SLIGHTLY BELOW THE LEVEL OF THE WATER IN THE POOL. 